The Washington and Lee Generals are the athletic teams that represent Washington and Lee University, located in Lexington, Virginia, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Generals compete as members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference for all sports except wrestling, which competes in the Centennial Conference. All together, Washington and Lee sponsors 25 sports: 13 for men and 12 for women. Washington and Lee was one of the founding members of the Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1900, as well as the Division I Southern Conference in 1921. The Generals remained members of the SoCon until 1958. During this time, they played alongside other Virginia universities like Virginia, Virginia Tech, VMI (also located in Lexington), and William & Mary. Generals basketball won the Southern Conference twice: 1934 and 1937. The football team even made an appearance in the 1951 Gator Bowl against Wyoming. After leaving the Southern Conference, the Generals moved into Division III and joined the College Athletic Conference in 1962. This was followed by a move to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in 1976, also as a founding member. Washington & Lee's men's lacrosse remained the school's only Division I program until 1987.

Varsity teams

List of teams

Men's sports Women's sports

Individual teams

National Championships

Washington and Lee holds two NCAA National Championship titles. In 1988, the men's tennis team won the NCAA Division III National Championship title. In 2007, the women's tennis team claimed the NCAA Division III National Championship title. In 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2021 the Generals football team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship. In 2009, the Generals baseball team won the ODAC championship.

Men's lacrosse

Washington and Lee's first lacrosse team was fielded in 1938 and started the Dixie Lacrosse League along with Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina. The Generals soon were successful winning the Dixie League Championship in 1939 and 1940. No team was fielded from 1943 through 1946. The team resumed play in 1947. After the school downgraded to Division III in 1958, the men's lacrosse team remained at the Division I level until 1987. Washington and Lee participated in seven NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournaments: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980. The Generals reached the tournament's semifinals three times: 1973, 1974, and 1975. Since 1987, Washington and Lee have won twelve Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Lacrosse Championships: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2016, 2019, and 2023. Washington and Lee have participated in fifteen NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship tournaments: 1987, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. The Generals reached the quarterfinals five times: 1998, 1999, 2004, 2023, and 2024. The Generals reached the semifinals four times: 1987, 2000, 2002, and 2024. Washington and Lee Hall of Fame Coach Jack Emmer is known for creating The Armadillo play where five players would surround a player with the ball, facing him and locking arms showing the defense only their backs. Any attempt by the defense to retrieve the ball would result in a penalty. Washington and Lee would then be able to run a man-up offense as a result of the penalty. Washington and Lee successfully used this play during the 1982 game against UNC. Following the game, The Armadillo was outlawed by the NCAA rules committee. Washington and Lee lacrosse is also known for being on the losing side of one of the greatest upsets in lacrosse history when unranked Morgan State defeated the number 1 ranked Generals in the first game of the season in 1975. W&L had a 28 game regular season winning streak and had not lost at home in three years at the time. Washington and Lee has played VMI every year since 1986. VMI is W&L's next-door neighbor in Lexington, VA. From 1988 until 2019, the game was known as the “Lee-Jackson Lacrosse Classic”. The Classic was named after Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Lee served as W&L's president from 1865-1870 and Jackson was a professor at VMI from 1851-1861. The Lee-Jackson trophy was a plaque featuring crossed swords. The Classic was held every spring as part of the main lacrosse season until 2007 when it moved to the fall as an exhibition game. Since 2022, the game has been held as a scrimmage and has been part of the HEADstrong Fall Events Series hosted by VMI. W&L holds a 33-5-1 lead in the all-time series against VMI. Washington and Lee competes against Christopher Newport every year for the Virginia LtN Cup and generates support for LtN. LtN or "Lacrosse the Nations" is an organization that uses lacrosse and other physical activities to teach important life skills and help improve education and health while creating opportunity and hope for children in need. W&L holds a 6-5 lead in the all time series against Christopher Newport.

Rivalries

Washington and Lee and Roanoke College have been rivals since the 1870's. The rivalry is fueled by a long history of competition; conference affiliation, and geography also plays a role in this rivalry as both schools are charter members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and are located about 50 miles from each other along Interstate 81. Both schools historically have had nationally ranked men's lacrosse teams and have been ranked in the top twenty when meeting each other toward the end of the regular season. In addition to men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse games with Roanoke has drawn much interest as both schools have had highly successful programs and have competed against each other in the ODAC Championship game multiple times.

Conference Tournament Championships

ODAC Championships unless otherwise noted Baseball (2): 1972 (CAC), 2009 Men's Basketball (10): 1934 (Southern), 1938 (Southern), 1967 (CAC), 1968 (CAC), 1970 (CAC), 1971 (CAC), 1976 (CAC), 1977, 1978, 1980 Women's Basketball (3): 2010, 2023, 2024 Men's Cross Country (15): 1972 (CAC), 1982, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Women's Cross Country (20): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024 Field Hockey (4): 2005, 2017, 2021, 2022 Men's Golf (18): 1934 (Southern), 1955 (Southern), 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2019 Women's Golf (6): 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 Men's Lacrosse (14): 1939 (Dixie), 1940 (Dixie), 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2016, 2019, 2023 Women's Lacrosse (24): 1992, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Riding (3): 2006, 2014, 2022 Men's Soccer (8): 1986, 1989, 2000, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024 Women's Soccer (5): 2002, 2003, 2009, 2016, 2024 Men's Swimming (17): 1935 (Southern), 1936 (Southern), 1937 (Southern), 1938 (Southern), 2004 (Bluegrass), 2005 (Bluegrass), 2006 (Bluegrass), 2007 (Bluegrass), 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 Women's Swimming (33): 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 Men's Tennis (48): 1967 (CAC), 1968 (CAC), 1969 (CAC), 1972 (CAC), 1973 (VCAA), 1976 (VCAA), 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Women's Tennis (33): 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Men's Indoor Track & Field (11): 1930 (Southern), 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Women's Indoor Track & Field : 2009 Men's Outdoor Track & Field (6): 1925 (State Champion), 1981, 1984, 1987, 1988, 2017 Women's Outdoor Track & Field : 1995 Volleyball (19): 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 Wrestling (14): 1932 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1933 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1934 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1936 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1941 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1948 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1949 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1950 ([[Southern](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)](https://bliptext.com/articles/southern-conference)), 1977, 1978, 1979, 2020, 2022, 2023

NCAA Tournament Appearances

Baseball

2009 Southeast Regional Salisbury, Maryland

Men's Basketball

1975 1977 1978 1980

Women's Basketball

2010 2022 2023 2024

Men's Cross Country

Appearances: 1975, 1995, 2016, 2023

Field Hockey

2005 2017 2021 2022

Men's Golf

Appearances: 1972, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1990, 1991, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024

Women's Golf

Appearances: 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Men's Lacrosse

1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1987 1991 1993 1998 1999 2000 2002 2004 2009 2013 2016 2018 2019 2022 2023 2024

Women's Lacrosse

1993 1998 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024

Men's Soccer

2000 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024

Women's Soccer

2002 2003 2002 2006 2009 2016 2022 2023 2024

Men's Swimming

Appearances: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024

Women's Swimming

Appearances: 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022

Men's Tennis

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1991 1996 1997 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024

Women's Tennis

1991 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024

Men's Indoor Track & Field

Appearances: 2014, 2015

Women's Indoor Track & Field

Appearances: 2009, 2015, 2016, 2022

Men's Outdoor Track & Field

Appearances: 2014

Women's Outdoor Track & Field

Appearances: 2008, 2009, 2014

Volleyball

1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2012 2013 2014 2018 2021 2023 2024

Wrestling

Appearances: 1936, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1989, 2017, 2022, 2023